USDA Under Secretary of Farm Production and Conservation Robert Bonnie tells the Red River Farm Network there’s interest in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “If we do it right, it will be an opportunity for agriculture and forestry and there will be new markets,” said Bonnie. Tools need to be available to help farmers deal with extreme weather, such as WHIP+, which could become more permanent in the next farm bill. “One of the things we’ve done with the program is to tier it off of existing programs to encourage farmers to use crop insurance and other safety net programs. There are suite of other issues that I think climate and other extreme issues present and we need to have a broader conversation of those in the context of the farm bill.”
